Trousers support



Feb. 20, 1934. A. L. ANDREWS TROUSERS SUPPORT Filed Nov. 1931 FIG- INVENTOR.

m m m T A Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

6 Claims.

My invention relates to belts for supporting trousers upon the human body.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device of this class which is new, novel, practical and of utility; which may be attached removably to the trousers; which will be worn upon the inside of the trousers; which will be attached by buttoning to the trousers upon buttons usually provided'for attaching suspenders; which will be form-fitting, thus causing the trousers to fit the hips smoothly without the usual wrinkles; which will be particularly useful in connection with trousers having a high waistline; which will be invisible when in use; which will be much more comfortable than usual belts; which, though made of cloth or other light material usually easily wrinkled, willhave a strengthening medium for preventing such wrinkling; which will be extremely cheap to manufacture; which will be strong and durable; and, which will be efficient in accomplishing all the purposes for which it is intended.

A particular feature of my invention is the provision of a safety arrangement to prevent the inadvertent removal of each button from the button hole by the weight of the trousers, or reverse pull on the trousers in any direction. Another feature is an arrangement whereby the trousers may move a limited distance radially with relation to the belt, and at the same time be properly supported by the belt. Yet another improved feature exists in designing the device so that it will be form-fitting and yet will not require the inset of gores, thus saving greatly in the number of seams as well as in material.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appear, my invention consists in the construction, novel features, and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described, pointed out in the claims hereto appended, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the belt, embodying the invention; 7

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of one alternative of a portion of the belt;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational sectional view showing the safety arrangement;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the belt;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the development of the structure shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing a slightly different safety arrangement than that illustrated in 3.

Like characters of reference designate like I parts in all the figures.

It is understood that'various changes in the form, proportion, size, shape weight and other details of construction, within the scope of my 00 invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or broad principle of my invention and without sacrificing any of the advantages thereof; and it is also understood that-the drawing is to be interpreted as being illustrative BI and not restrictive.

One practical embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the drawing follows:

' Refer now more particularly to the first five figures of the drawing in which are shown a girdle or belt 1 of cloth or other suitable material, having a plurality of V-shaped tucks 2 intermediate its ends 3 and 4 for shortening the length of its uppermost edge portion. Said tucks 2 are provided for the purpose of making the belt conform to the slope of thepersons hips. Elastic insertions may be used in the belt if desired. Adjacent said end 3, said belt 1 is provided with a'row of buttons 5, and adjacent said end 4, it is provided with a plurality of rows of button holes 6, the holes of each rowbeing spaced to'receive said buttons 5 'therethrough. The plurality of rows of button holes 6 are provided for an adjustment of the size for permitting the belt to be used by persons having different waist measurements. 86

Said belt 1 is provided with a plurality of spaced strips 7 of like material which are placed laterally upon the surface of the belt and their side edges sewed or fastened to said belt 1 from its'lower edge to adjacent its upper edge. Said strips '7 are 00 located upon the outer surface of the belt considering the belt to be in a position as illustrated in Fig. 1. 7

Each of said strips 7 act as a housing for a flat reinforcing member or stave 8 of some comparatively stiff or semi-flexible material such as rubberized fabric, celluloid, or the like, and the members 8 act as a means for preventing the belt from wrinkling or folding transversely when worn.

Each of said strips '7 are greater in length than the width of said belt 1, and their upper end portions are folded outwardly and downwardly along the strip to form a tab 9. The tab 9 of each strip is provided with a button hole 10. Said strips 7 and tabs 9 will be more fully described'hereinbelow.

Said strips 7 are spaced around said belt 1 approximately as shown in Fig. 1 and co-operating buttons (not shown) are sewed into the waistband of trousers in proper position to engage the buttonholes 10.

In order to make allowance for shrinkage, or elongation of the belt and still insure correct contact of the button holes 10 with the supporting buttons in the waistband of trousers, I provide the belt adjacent its ends 3 and 4 with a plurality of strips '7 and tabs 9 as may best be seen in Fig. 2.

Figs. 3 and 5 illustrate an organization whereby the suspender buttons are prevented from being inadvertently removed from the button holes 10. This organization could not be adequately il-. lustrated in Fig. 1, but it is to be understood that it is preferably provided in connection with the strip 7.

In Fig. 3 reference numeral '7 indicates the strip, 8 indicates the stave,-11 indicates the usual sewed belt or waistband portion of the trousers to which a suspender button 12 is attached by threads 13. It will be understood that the strip 7 will be attached to the belt 1 as previously described, and the left hand face of the strip as shown in Fig. 3 will lie against the outer face of the belt. The upper end of the strip is bent downwardly along the outer or right hand face of the strip '7, as illustrated at 15, to a point at which, it contacts the threads 13, and is then bent upwardly as illustrated at 18 to approximately the. top. of the strip whence it is bent downwardly as shown at 19 to a point considerably below the threads 13, and then again upwardly as shown at 20. Stitches 21 are taken through said portions 15., 18,19 and 20. The button hole 10 is cut through said portion 19 and 20 and the usual buttonhole stitches hold these two portions together. The upper end of said portion 20 is carried over the uppermost ends of the portions 15, 1.8, and 19 and is then bent downwardly between the. strip. 7 and the belt 1. Threads 17 pass through. 15, 18, 19, 20 and belt 1 and these members are. held in place by threads 17. The lower end. of said strip '7 is bent inwardly and upwardly as shown at .16 next to the belt 1, and is held in place by threads. 16- a.

The action of either an upward or downward pull on the member; 11 with the'strips '7 being held rigidly in position by the belt 1, will cause the. lower extremities of said portions 15 and 18 toblock the hole 10- and will insure against the button being pried out of the button hole, the portion, of the button hole lying above said threads 13- being completely covered by the tongue formed by the portions 15 and 18.

It may be seen that while the tabs 9 support the trousers against vertical movement with respect tethe belt 1, they at the same time permit a limited swinging movement longitudinally with respect to the belt 1. This allowed movement guardsagainst any binding or wrinkling of the trousers where the supporting buttons 12 are attachedwhich would otherwise occur if the but- In Fig. 6 the belt is shown as consisting of a strip folded longitudinally at its center. I The stave 8 is enveloped in a similarly folded strip 37 of some soft material which acts as a pad, and which is enveloped by the belt 1. In this embodiment, if it is desired to use the belt in a detachable manner, the adjacent ends 38 and 39 of the tab 9 are caught between the adjacent. edges of the strip 37 and are held in place by stitches 40.

From the foregoing description it may be seen that the applicant has provided a belt which will accomplish all of the objects set forth.

Obviously, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described herein, and applicable for uses and purposes other than as described, and I therefore consider as my own all such modifications and adaptations, and other uses of the form of the device herein described, as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed and desired'to be secured by Letters Pat.- ent, is:

1. A device of the class described, embodying a pliable belt, means for adjustably connecting the ends of the beltv together, a. plurality of lateral pliable strips spacedly disposed on the outer face of said belt, means carried by said strips for preventing the belt from wrinkling laterally, a portion of each of said strips turned downwardly ad.- jacent the upper edge of said belt to form tabs which are free to swing slightly longitudinally with respect to the belt, button attaching means moval of a button from said button attaching means.

2. Organization as described in. claim 1,, in which the last mentioned means consists of a tongue carried by each tab for removably covering that portion of each button hole which is not occupied by the button attaching thread, said tongue so disposed. that it is interposed between the tab. and the button.

3-. In a belt for attachment to the inner surface of a garment waist-band, an attachment element 7 consisting of asta-y enclosing strip of flexible material transversely attachedfirmly to the belt, said strip ofa length greater thanthewidthof the belt and having its upper portion folded downwardly to form a depending tab onv the exterior ofthebelt, said. tab having-a buttonrhole for engaging a button on said waist-band, and a tongue, between the tab and thebelt for contacting themner surface of the button and coveringa portion of the button-hole for. preventing inadvertent.

withdrawal of the'buttonfrom the button-hole.

4. In a. device of the class described, a belt,

spaced depending tabs carried by the upper edge of said belt, said tabsfree toswing slightly longitudinally of the belt and each having. a button hole therethrough for attaching the tabs to buttons sewed to the waist-band of a garment, and tongue means carriedbythe. tabs for preventing inadvertent removal of a button from the button-hole.

5. The combination withia button attached by usual means to one element,.and with abutton hole carried by a second element, of a flexible tongue carried by the second. element. for removably covering that portion of the; buttonehole;

which is not occupied by the button attaching gitudinally of the belt and each having a buttonhole therethrough for attaching the tabs to buttons sewed to the waist-band of a garment, and means carried by the tabs for preventing inadvertent removal of a button from the button-hole.

ADMIRAL L. ANDREWS. 

